IVAN
JEGOROVICH ALEKSEYEV ===text in preparation=== |
JERZY ANDRUSZKO |
CLAYTON G.
BAILEY Clayton G. Bailey lives in
California, U.S.A.
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Clayton G.
Bailey |
PHONS BAKX Jew's harp
player since 1985. In his initial days he played his Jew's
harp Mosaics (1986-1987) as a solist. Soon
after that he founded various ensembles, such as Middelburgs Mondharp
Ensemble (1987), Casu Marzu Ensemble (1996) and Phons Bakx
Ensemble (1997). With all these ensembles he has interpreted traditional
music. He performed with Indonesian musicians and dancers in ensembles like Gengénggonggan
(1993) and Orang Genggong
(1999). He played in duet on stage with: Petra Kwekkeboom
(recorder), Franky Berhitu (suling, traverse flute), Salvatore
Aragoni (Jhp, clarinet), with Enno Meijers (Jhp) and
with the Kwintes Ensemble. He was the
member in white of the Dutch Kwintes Ensemble. This ensemble once was concentrating on modern four-voice
compositions for Jew's harp. Bakx' choise for new forms of music was than the
result of playing and studying in this four members ensemble-strength. This
ensemble has been instructed by the Dutch modern composer Douwe Eisenga. Phons Bakx
is the author of the Dutch standard monograph about the Jew's harp De
Gedachtenverdrijver. He has published several
other essays on the Jew's harp: The Jew's
harp and the Hindu God Shiva (E), The Rooria - Jhp of the Maoris (E), 1000
Names of the Jhp (E), "Poing" - house music (E), La
Valeur de Joyau Qu'est la Guimbarde (F), Franz
Bernögger (Interview) (D) and De
Kleinoodwaarde van de Mondharp (NL). In 1992 he
made a national VPRO-radioprogram about the Jew's harp that
lasted 8 hours of broadcasting. Address: Lijsterbeslaan 19
- 4334 BM - Middelburg |
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Peter Kersten |
OOPhons Bakx |
ANTON BRUHIN ===text in
preparation=== |
FREDERICK
CRANE Undoubtedly
the most documentated person on the Jew's harp in the whole world. He is from
Mount Pleasant in Iowa, U.S.A. He plays the Jew's harp since 1975, but
started all his researches for this instrument in 1955. He has played the
première of Linda Robbins Coleman's Concertino. Mainly for
the Jew's harp, he is the editor (and he also is an author) of the authorized
magazine about the Jew's harp, called V.I.M., in full:
Vierundzwanzigsteljahrschrift der Internationalen
Maultrommelvirtuosengenoßenschaft. He started
this magazine in 1982. Up till now, 20 years later, prof. emer. Frederick
Crane has published 11 numbers of V.I.M. General view on all the V.I.M.'s Ordering issues from the V.I.M.-series Frederick
Crane is called the Father of the International Congress of the Jew's
harp - he started the first one in Iowa City in 1984. Now he is a member of
the International Jew's harp Association. more information about
Frederick Crane may follow in future |
PHILIPPE
DALLAIS For contact, click here: Philippe
Dallais, Neuchâtel
city, Switzerland |
Philippe Dallais on mukkuri Jew's harp |
DANIBAL |
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DANIEL
DUE-TØNNESSEN Is a
solist player in the Setesdal musical tradition of Norway. If you want to contact
him, try this address: A picture of him may follow |
GEORG
DECRISTEL ===text in preparation=== One of the most
non-conformistic Jew's harp players of our time may have been Georg Decristel
from Innsbruck, Austria. He was born in Hall (Tirol) in 1937. As a
young man he studied economics, social sciences, jurisprudence, philosophy
and general sciences of speech in Inssbruck, London and Klagenfurt. He was an
autodidact in history of arts. After his times as a
student in the 60-ies he became more interested in expressions of art, and
start his strolling performances and his ambulant Jew's harp playing, his
"Wandelmaultrommelein". He performed at numberous lectures of poets
like Artmann, Achleitner, Jandl, etc. for information, e-connect Antropodium (ed. staff) |
georg
decristel sonyadibaboralexa
(sonogram/score) |
....is a Jew's harp player
from Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He plays solitary and together with
other Jew's harpers and instrumentalists on didgeridu, violincello, flute and
percussions like Big Bom & Baby Bom, combined in miscellanious ensembles
as the Basic Freaks, Mezcolanza and Esum Esum. |
ÅNON EGELAND ===text in preparation=== |
IZZ VAN ELK Izz van Elk was a Jew's
harper and percussionist in the former Dutch Kwintes Ensemble. This ensemble is concentrating on modern four-voice
compositions for Jew's harp. Izz van Elk lives in Goes,
the Netherlands |
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Izz van Elk |
MAX ENGEL Max Engel
is a musicologist who has performed the Jew's harp parts from the scores of Johann
Heinrich Hörmann's Parthia ab Octis Instrumentis (1735). This
partita in C contains seven Bauern-barocke (= farmers baroque)
dances: Intrada-Menuetto-Burlesca-Rigaudon-Polonaise-Rondeau-Gigue. For each
dance there's a melody score for the "Crembalo Unisono" or the
unison Jew's harp. The Partita was composed for the strength of: two
violins con sordino, two violins pizzicato, two recorders, one
Jew's harp and one cello. It is executed by the Collegium pro Musica
from Innsbruck, and was conducted by Max Engel. The Parthia Ab Octis
Instrumentis has been arranged by prof. dr. Walter Senn. It has been
recorded by the ORF Landesstudio Tirol. |
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Max Engel
is from a wellknown music family, and he give concerts all over the world. He
is regarded as a multirateral musician, playing on modern, (non-) European
and ancient instruments. He's specialized on cello, zither, Jew's harp, wood-
and brasswindinstruments, hurdy-gurdy, woodblocks and tromba marina. He also
is an instrument maker. In his carreer he worked as a solist, but also in
ensembles as Mumelters Concertodrom, Collegium Aureum and in the Salzburger
Mozart Trio. |
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for information, e-connect Antropodium (ed. staff) |
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GORDON
FRAZIER |
BERNHARD
FOLKESTAD Bernard
Folkestad usually performs as a solistic Jew's harp player, but in some cases
he'll appear in duet with fiddle(s). His repertory is reserved to the
authentic Norwegian folk tradition, and sometimes he will interpret a dash of
British traditional folk music. Up till now he had performed his music only
in small scaled concerts or at contests. Bernard
Folkestad also writes and edits on articles about the Jew's harp in the
Norwegian magazine Munnharpa (in everyday life he is a school teacher
for the English language). He has spent several articles on Jew's harps,
forgers and the players tradition..., all from Norway. He also wrote an
article on the Scottish 'twanger' Lindsay
Porteous. His address is: Bernard
Folkestad, N-6100, Volda, Norway |
Was one of
the last known Jew's harp players of an obsolete tradition in Finnland
enduring the initial years of the 20st century. He has mastered the genre of
the polska as his speciality. He must
have been a character, for he introduced himself as a noble man "Vihtori
Heinonkoski von Villebrandt". Testimonies tell us that he was remembered
as a man that turned his head off because he could not keep in his laughter
caused by his own jokes. He never has shown anyone how he created the sounds
on his Jew's harp. Once he did play at a wedding for two days without sleep.
After that someone has asked him if the Jew's harp iron was not too hot,
Heinonen answered "Yes, that is why I have to dip it in the beer barrel
so often!" - Heinonen his instruments are still kept in the museum of
Forssa in Southwest-Häme in Finnland.*) *) these
alineas contain information extracted from the interview |
MORSING
SITARAMA IYER ===text in preparation=== |
PETER
KERSTEN Was Jew's
harp member of the Dutch Kwintes Ensemble. This
ensemble was concentrating on four-voice compositions for Jew's harp. In
1987, together with Phons Bakx, Peter Kersten started to play in the
Middelburgs Mondharp Ensemble. Than he interperted mostly traditional music
from Sardinia and North-America. Beside his interest for playing the guitar,
he also is a maker and re-maker of metal Jew's harps (for his Jew's harp
production, click on Connection through e-mail
Antropodium |
FRANK KOLB Frank Kolb
plays the harp solo, but he also did it in duet with Heissa Jürgens. Kolb's
playing styles will vary from the interpreted styles typical for Yakutia and
Siberia, to the playing techniques that belong to his Hessian home area.
Mingled repertoires for Jew's harp may also have his attention when he is on
stage.
Kolb: "Greetings
to the friends of the Yakutian Jew's harp,... I am always interested in
getting information, new instruments and new Jew's harps friends..."
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WERNER KUMPL Werner
Kumpl plays the Jew's harp for about 25 years. His first Jew's harp was a khomus
from Siberia. Since than he has specialized in playing these Siberian
instruments, especially the khomus of Gogolev. Contacts via Antropodium (ed. staff) |
KWINTES
ENSEMBLE For every
composition the four musicians chose every key of their Jew's harps with
great care. This made audible the harmonic combinations of the different keys
all together. The Kwintes-Jew's harpers used the idiomatic sound qualities of
the Jew's harp. This is less important in folk music where at first the folk
melody has to be interpreted. In folk music the Jew's harp very often
functions as a rhythmic instrument together with other instruments. In those
combinations the harmonics of the Jew's harp sound don't play a part. In the
repertoire of the Kwintes Ensemble the Jew's harp combinations "took the
floor" by themselves, maybe an usual playing method in contemporary
music, but not in those small quarters of the world where Jew's harps are
prominent. This
ensemble composed its own music and at certain moments the players went up
into improvised moods. Sometimes a percussion instrument was added. |
MAHISU Mahisu was a member
of the Wam-tribe in the Maprik-district in East-Sepik, Papua Niugini. As far
as it is known, the Wam-Papua-men recite an unique, harmonic sound ritual on
the binatang, a living
sago-beetle, on which they play harmonic music with their mouth cavity (see
photo below). It is not
necessary to designate this rare "sound instrument" as one of the
parallel-instrument types of the Jew's harp, a thing that also could be
applied to a harmonic instrument of worldwide meaning and distribution as the
mouthbow. It may be the best this binatang-sound ritual not to consider
seriously as a parallel-instrument of the Jew's harp, but it approaches very
close the humoristic idea of a "live" parallel-instrument of the
Jew's harp. The (rather cruel) principle has been observed by Emer. Prof.
Robert MacLennan (Brisbane, Australia) and the Dutch-Australian physician Dr
Fred Gerrits. Both have recorded them on tape. Their testimony is as follows.
The
tribemen of the Wam in Maprik-district will catch a number of beetles in the
palmtrees. This beetle, in the length of 10-15 cm from tip to tail, is quite
aggressive and in a certain way dangerous to catch. When the Wam-Papuas want
the beetles for use during a sound-ritual in a group, they'll aggravate their
state of agitation by breaking off the half of one of their hind legs. They
put a sharp wooden spine of a sago-leaf right into the open, external
hinge-joint of the insect. They will fix the beetle tightly as possible, so
it can not fly away. The harmful agitation causes the beetle to buzz very
loudly in a non-stopping drone. Than the beetle is suspended in the free air
and the player will shake it to induce to fly. The men will bring carefully the
buzzing beetles to their opened mouth and make audible clear harmonics on the
drone sound of it. The tip of one of the two vibrating wings is held close to
the open mouth, so that the player can select the harmonics on the buzzing
tone of the binatang. In the
background of the buzzing sound one will hear the harmonic patterns od the
player. It was clear that Mahisu was well experienced in making these
harmonic patterns. According to Emer. Prof. Robert MacLennan, the Papua
Mahisu doesn't live anymore. The
Dutch-Australian physician Dr Fred Gerrits has observed and recorded this
kind of ritual in the Maprik-district in 1977 with beetles of about 10-15 cm
in size. He recorded them on tape. Apart from these all, it seems that these
rituals are not very common but rare. It only has been observed among a few
old-equatorial tribes of Niugini and among some proto-malayan tribes of the
Malacca-peninsuala in Malaysia. It is said that the latter even do this
ritual with two beetles in front of one man's opened mouth. As far as it is
known, there are no special animistic connotations or religious aims with
these beetle-sound rituals. If anyone knows more about
people making sounds with beetles or |
HARVEY
MATUSOW Harvey Job Matusow is known
for his excentric and legendary Jew's harp record War between Fats and Thins. The
record has been released in 1969 and is regarded as a cult favorite amongst
those who remember it. Matusow - once a friend of Yoko One when she was in
her Fluxus-art prime - has involved himself in the avant-garde music, and has
produced a festival in the United Kingdom, featuring amongst others his
friend John Cage. His life was a long concatenation of unusual and incredible
choises for jobs, habits, politics, acts, inventions, employments, religions,
weddings, enterprises, charities etc. He was the inventor of the Stringless
Yo-yo, a top-selling toy in the 50-ies in the U.S.A. He seems to be known as
the only one Jewish-Buddhistic Mormon in America. - Harvey Job Matusow died
in January 2002 because of a car accident. In the
late 1960-ies Harvey Matusow produced a very rare album by his own Jew's Harp
Band, consisting of (among more) three Jew's harp players as Claude Lintot,
Rod Parsons and Chris Yak. At that
time the Harvey Matusow's Jew's Harps Band has been admitted as the
only Jew's harps band on earth, but it surely wasn't, noticing the mechanical
experiments of the John White's Jew's Harp Machine, or even the very
large Jew's harp orchestras from Bali about we've never heard before at that
time. Harvey
Matusows Jew's Harps Band is completed by Leslie Kenton (vocals &
metronome) and Anna Lockwood (indian bells, guitar).
Harvey Job Matusow |
MENABEPF Menabepf
is a Jew's harp player from the Oksapmin-tribe in the Western Highlands of
Papua Niugini. He plays on a very long sized Jew's harp, which rather is
uncommon in the geographyical spread of the bamboo Jew's harp. Its length
varies in size from 38 till 40 cm (see photo below). When the
oblong needle-shaped reed oscillates, it will be easy that it hits somewhere
the insides of the two parallel frame-bridges. This causes a rattling sound,
which can be heard in every beat that is made. It seems that Papuas
appreciate this accompanying percussion(noise) when playing. Another
feature on this oblong Jew's harp, which actually can not be regarded as the
feature for a rattle-Jew's harp, is the way how it is struck (see photo
below). The fist of the hand has to beat firmly against the lower part of
the Jew's harp, so that the lamella will oscillate. Menabepf
belongs to the tradition of Jew's harp players in the world that will use the
Jew's harp as an instrument of speech. He makes use of a very unique
repertory on articulation sounds that he will repeat constantly through his
Jew's harp. What Oksapmin-men recite on Jew's harp, may even be unusual to
any Papua Jew's harp tradition (maybe with the exception for the
Usurufa-tribes in the Central Highlands). They reflect several spiritual
aspects of the surrounding nature into an idiom of combined mouth-, guttural-
and respiration-sounds. These sounds are transposed into a "world of
harmonics" by the Jew's harp. At the same time they are masked by the
Jew's harp. During his
residence among the Oksapmin in 1963 and 1973, Prof. Emer. Robert MacLennan
has discovered that the result of all these individual Jew's harp idioms
alternately correspond to the Oksapmin-myths. In near future Robert MacLennan
would like to record all the different accounts and stories told by the
Oksapmin-men that will give feedback to the Jew's harp idioms. for information, e-connect Antropodium (ed. staff) Menabepf on a oblong bamboo
Jew's harp, striking it by his fist |
JARNO
MIETTINEN Jarno
Miettinen is interested in the world of the Jew's harp, especially in
Scandinavia. According to an Intervju in the Norwegian magazine
"Munnharpa" (nr 12), Jarno has documentated himself on the
historical, traditional and contemporary aspects of the Jew's harp in
Scandinavia, Suomi (Finnland) and the Baltic states. He has learned some
instructions for Jew's harp playing by the Finnish Jew's harper Tapani Varis.
Jarno has
established an extensive website about the "Suomen
Munniharppuyhdistys" or the Finnish Jew's Harp Association
Jarno Miettinen on an
electric trump |
ENNO MEIJERS At the end
of the 1980-ies he participated (together with Peter Kersten and Phons Bakx)
in the Middelburgs Mondharp Ensemble. After that he played in the Jew's
harpers-duo with Phons Bakx and as a member in the Dutch four-headed Kwintes Ensemble, a Jew's
harp group concentrating on four-voice compositions for Jew's harp.. In his
initial days with the Middelburgs Mondharp Ensemble he performed traditional
and improvised music. Later in the 1990-ies his interest for Jew's harp music
would develop more and more into contemporary style of music. Like Phons
Bakx', his choise for modern forms of music is the result of playing and
muisc study in a four members ensemble. This ensemble has been instructed by
the Dutch modern composer Douwe Eisenga. Recorded
on CD's: Casu Marzu
Ensemble (1997) and duos with
Phons Bakx (1999).
Enno
Meijers: photograph |
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Samuel or
Samy Mourot mainly plays the Jew's harp solitary, but opportunities of
unformal performances in public make him join into ensembles as Jew's harp-
and didgeridu-player, or as a hand drummer on udu or dumbak. He also performs
as a throatsinger. Samuel
Mourot: "I recently had nice opportunities to exchange (selfmade)
Jew's harps with other enthusiastics. I gladly would like to continue this
exchange with people who are interested in this kind of trade..." Samuel
Mourot lives near to the town Besançon in Eastern France. You can
reach him by e-mail s.mourot@voila.fr - You can
also visit his website: http://site.voila.fr/samkubing |